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LR/RI produces a bulletin roughly every
two
to three weeks in order
to inform area practitioners of news, events, and calls for
participation
and also as a forum for posing questions, issues and discussion topics.
The current bulletin is posted below. To read previous bulletins, go to
Bulletin
Archives. To receive the bulletin via email, contact LR/RI.
June 20, 2007
Bulletin #244
Dear Colleagues,
Calls for
participation, employment,
funding,
and conference and workshop
opportunities, online
and other resources. To post information, and/or to receive
the bulletin via email, please contact LR/RI or leave a message at
(401-863-2839).
Janet Isserlis
____________________________________________________________
NOTICES
Thanks to all
who participated in the Adult Educators' Conference on May 17th.
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Many thanks.
ESOL share
- Tuesday, July 17th at
3:00, Genesis Center, 620 Potters Avenue, Providence. Open focus
– looking back, looking forward. Reflecting on learning,
resources and possibilities.
talk
about it: a discussion about
community literacy on the National Institute for Literacy
Special Topics discussion list during the week of June 25 -29.
Guests for this discussion include: Margaret Doughty, Carl Guerriere,
Petrice Sams-Abiodun, Darlene Kostrub, Jeff Carter, and Kathy
Chernus. We will discuss: what community adult and family
literacy means , what the community literacy purposes and goals are ,
why community literacy is important , who key community literacy
stakeholders are, examples of community literacy coalitions, incentives
and strategies for strengthening community literacy, how to measure the
health, outcomes and impact of community literacy, the effect of
community literacy on a community, what we know about community
literacy from research, what the relationship is of community literacy
to workforce literacy, workforce development, and transition to higher
education, the role of technology in community literacy, resources
needed for effective community literacy collaboration , how literacy
organizations can work together to make literacy a top community
priority and more.
To subscribe to the Special Topics Discussion List, go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics
(After registering, you will be sent an email. You must reply to the
email immediately to be subscribed.)
You may unsubscribe, after this discussion, or remain subscribed to see
if you are interested in the next discussion. Between these
specific, topic-oriented discussions, you will not receive messages
from the list.
I look forward to your joining us in this discussion. - David J. Rosen,
Special Topics Discussion List Moderator
djrosen@comcast.net
New Literacy Journal
The first issue of the Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal,
co-published by the Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) and
ProLiteracy America, was launched in March.
The journal’s predecessor, Adult Basic Education, was started by COABE
in 1977. The new journal will continue to carry research articles that
are peer reviewed using a double blind protocol that conceals reviewers’
identities from authors, and vice versa.
The journal will also include the following shorter features written
especially for practitioners:
• Practitioner Perspective offers first-person narratives
by people who’ve solved problems that instructors or program directors
often encounter. The emphasis is on learnings that can be used by other
practitioners.
• Web Scan, edited by David Rosen, offers a roundup of the
most useful instructional and management resources found on the
Internet.
• Research Digest, edited by Cristine Smith, offers a quick
recap of published and ongoing research projects around the country,
with contact information so interested readers can find out more.
• Resource Reviews, edited by Daphne Greenberg, help
practitioners and researchers stay abreast of the latest offerings from
educational publishers.
• Occasional essays, called Viewpoint, that analyze trends
and forces at work in the field. The March issue carries an essay on
health literacy by Rima Rudd. The July issue will carry an essay on the
national research agenda by John Comings.
The journal is published three times per year. To subscribe, or to view
author guidelines, visit http://www.coabe.org. For more information,
send an e-mail to journaleditor@literacyprogram.org.
Daphne Greenberg,
Georgia State University
learning
opportunities
classes this summer: ESL/Family Literacy
class schedule
May 29 - June 29
The Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative(RIFLI)
is a free, first-step family literacy program for adults and their
children based at Providence Public Library with classes in libraries
throughout Rhode Island. RIFLI offers English as a Second Language
(ESL), citizenship preparation and computer instruction, as well as
children's programming, student resource support and links to library
resources and services.
Providence Public Library Schedule
Call Larry Britt or Sherry Lehane
at (401)455-8016.
Knight Memorial Library, 275 Elmwood Avenue
Monday & Wednesday,
5:30-7:30pm, Intermediate
Mt. Pleasant Branch Library, 315 Academy Avenue
Tuesday &
Thursday, 5:30-7:30pm, Intermediate
Olneyville Branch Library, 1 Olneyville Square (starts June 4)
Monday
& Wednesday, 10am-12pm, Beginner and Intermediate
Rochambeau Branch Library, 708 Hope Street (ends June 13)
Tuesday &
Wednesday, 10am-12pm, Beginner and Intermediate
South Providence Branch Library, 441 Prairie Avenue
Tuesday &
Thursday, 5:30-7:30pm, Beginner
Register now! Call the Literacy Dept. at 455-8016.
Major funding for these programs is provided from Federal LSTA funds
through the RI Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS), the
City of Pawtucket Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from US HUD,
the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the RI Department of Education.
If your program is offering classes this summer, and you'd like to let
others know, please contact lrri@brown.edu
FAST TRACK TO THE GED: The
Community College of Rhode Island, Providence Campus will be offering a
Fast Track GED class July 23, through August 10, 2007. This 3
week class will offer intense Math and Writing instruction as well as
the GED Test Battery. Eligible participants must pre-test on a 10th
grade Reading level and a 7th grade Math level. Any program in need of
a fast track class and/or closed for the summer may refer students.
Contact Angela Salvadore at 455-6140 or asalvadore@ccri.edu for
information.
Introducing: Teachers Unite in the Classroom! We
invite educators to join this unique peer-to-peer professional
development forum. Post or answer questions about your lessons,
curricula or other classroom matters that deal with issues of justice,
equity, liberation, representation or grassroots activism. Use this
moderated listserv to pose questions, share experiences and recommend
resources that build social justice teaching. Sign up at: https://lists.mayfirst.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/teachersuniteclassroom
Looking forward to the conversation. - Sally Lee, Executive Director,
Teachers Unite
Summer Professional Development - Hasbro
Center for Teaching Excellence
Find Out How Mel Levine's Framework Can Lend Infrastructure and
Effective Strategies to your RtI Process Schools
Attuned has been hailed as the "missing link" by teachers who require
specific and effective strategies for meeting the diverse needs of the
students in their classrooms. With documented success at the classroom,
school and district level, the 45 hour core course equips educators
with tools to better understand learning styles and promote academic
achievement for all. Three graduate credits, 45 PDCs, $1500. Some
financial aid available. http://www.allkindsofminds.org/sa/index.aspx
Explore Orton-Gillingham
While Developing Teaching Tools in Reading Comprehension, Writing, and
Fluency The Multisensory Literacy course connects multisensory,
direct instruction with all five components of literacy -- providing
teachers with a process for layering direct, systematic, multisensory
instruction through all components of their literacy program. The
content of the course is meant to be implemented in a full classroom /
Tier 1 intervention model. July 9 - 13 at CVS-Highlander
Charter School, Providence. 2 graduate credits, 30 PDCs, $600. http://www.dunninstitute.org/multisensoryliteracycourse.html
High Quality, Research-Based Intervention for Struggling Readers
Orton-Gillingham
(O-G) is a multisensory approach to teaching reading, spelling and
writing for students with language-based learning differences,
particularly dyslexia. Phonemic-based O-G is systematic, maintaining a
logical sequence of learning; at the same time, it focuses on
flexibility, creativity, and individualization. The Associate Level
course prepares participants to offer 1:1 intervention support to
identified struggling readers
The Associate Level course includes 60 hours of coursework and 100
hours of practicum. Seven graduate credits are offered; 160 PDCs. http://www.dunninstitute.org/Orton-Gillingham2.html
Contact Information email: sanfordcw@aol.com phone:
401-831-7323 x 17 http://www.dunninstitute.org
Hasbro Center for Teaching Excellence, a division of the Dunn Institute
| 220 West Exchange Street | Suite 202 | Providence | RI | 02903
Professional mom seeks committed tutor for three teens (2 middle
school, 1 high school) in math, reading, writing (and general study
habits, note-taking).
Would like to start immediately with regular part time schedule and
hourly wage. Meeting at my home (near Roger Williams Hospital) or
at a nearby library.
Please respond to LRRI (lrri@brown.edu)
with references.
funding
opportunities - large and less large
Funding
opportunities from PEN Weekly
NewsBlast, (from Pen Weekly Newsblast; To view
past issues of the PEN Weekly NewsBlast, visit: http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_past.asp
Helping Immigrants Learn English The
Ray Solem Foundation is offering one-time grants to non-profit
organizations that have found creative ways to help immigrants in the
United States further their verbal English language skills -- listening
comprehension and oral communications. Maximum Award: $10,000.
Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline:
July 31, 2007. http://www.raysolemfund.org/grants.html
UPS Foundation Education Grants fund
high impact philanthropic programs
that raise the level of educational instruction, family learning
opportunities, and school involvement projects. Maximum Award: varies.
Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations. http://www.community.ups.com/philanthropy/grant.html
- other grants from the Public Education Network: http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp
- The federal government's new one stop grant site:
http://www.grants.gov/
The Poverty & Race Research Action
Council
(PRRAC) announces another round of education reform grants in areas of
social science research. PRACC is particularly interested in
issues
such as high classroom turnover/mobility and its disproportionate
impact
on low-income, minority, and farm worker students. However, other
issues will be considered as well. To apply, send PRRAC a
proposal
outlining the planned research and methodology, the advocacy work it is
designed to support, a budget, timeline, and qualifications of the
researchers.
Maximum grant: $10,000. No application deadline. http://www.prrac.org/grants.php
Funding Solutions for Small Nonprofit
Organizations
A collection of resources to help small nonprofit organizations
fundraise
including ways to motivate your board, sample fundraising letters,
phonathon
advice, and tips to improve your direct mail solicitation. http://www.nonprofit-innovations.com/
employment
opportunities
TWO PART-TIME POSITIONS: Adult Basic
Education
ABE I Level and ASE Level, Bristol Community College 135 Country
Street, Attleboro MA 02703
ABE instructors provide instruction for adult students in basic skills
upgrading and/or GED preparation. Instructors are responsible for
maintaining student assessment results and tracking student progress
throughout the year. Instructors will meet with students to define and
update goals. Instructor must participate in professional and
program development activities.
Reports to Attleboro Adult Basic Education Director.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Provides instruction to assigned classes according to
program curriculum guidelines
Maintains students’ academic and attendance records
Develops appropriate material for classroom activities and curriculum
within the MA ABE Frameworks
Works with program counselor to assist students in setting and
achieving their personal and career goals
Attends at least 12 hours of professional activities per year, or 2.5%
of paid hours, whichever is greater. New staff members must
attend 15 hours of staff orientation provided by SABES, in addition to
the 12 required hours and attends monthly staff meetings
Assumes responsibilities for educational projects as assigned by the
Director of Adult Basic Education
QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s Degree required, Experience working with the
adult learners preferred
ABE I level applicant should have significant experience in early
literacy instruction, Learning Disabilities as well as a desire to work
with low literacy adults.
ASE(GED LEVEL) applicants should have experience in teaching Math
especially ASE level Math
Ability to work in a team atmosphere and team teach if necessary,
Demonstrated ability to provide individualized and group instruction to
non-traditional students in an managed enrollment program
Excellent oral and written communication skills, Ability to work with
students from diverse educational and ethnic backgrounds, Computer
literate (educational software, college productivity software: MS
Office)
POSITION STATUS: Part-time non-benefit position Classes are
Monday- Wednesday 9am-12pm Positions begin ASAP. SALARY:
$22.83/hour plus prep time
ABE I position = 11.75 hours per
week
ASE Level= 13.5 hours per week
Please send a letter of intent and resume by June 22 to: Kristen P.
McKenna, ABE Program Director
kmckenna@bristol.mass.edu Or send to 135 County St.,
Attleboro MA 02703 An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
Program Director for Literacy Volunteers of
East Bay: LVEB is a non-profit adult literacy organization
providing 40 to 50 one-to-one tutor pairs and serving the communities
of East Providence, Barrington, Warren (office location) and
Bristol. This paid position requires 20+ hours per week, affords
a flexible schedule and professional development.
Qualifications: Two years experience with volunteers, adult learners
and diverse backgrounds preferred. Must be enthusiastic, well
organized and possess excellent communication and computer skills.
Functions included in overseeing the organizations delivery of 2000+
hours of one-to-one tutoring: Recruitment; Training and support of
volunteers; Recruitment and assessment of students; Maintenance of
databases; Writing grants; Extending networked links with the
community, and Working closely with the Board of Directors.
Direct reports: One part-time, paid Administrative Assistant and one
part-time paid Literacy Specialist (budget permitting) in addition to
part-time volunteers.
Send resume and writing sample to lvaeastbay@fullchannel.net
Program Director, Educational Equity
Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service Brown University
Providence, RI
The Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University works to
connect the capacities of the university and community to address
inequalities in our society and communities; create, share, and apply
knowledge for the public good; and educate and prepare students for
lives of effective action. The Center was founded in 1987 by
Howard Swearer, the 15th President of Brown University, and is an
office of the Dean of the College at Brown.
The Swearer Center for Public Service has historically had a major
focus on educational equity and opportunity, with currently over half
the Center’s programs working with children through adults. The
Center has now identified education equity as a core issue, around
which to build a more focused and comprehensive set of efforts, with
the goal of increasing both community impact and Brown student
learning.
The Center’s strategy will incorporate several principals and elements
in seeking both community impact and Brown student learning:
• Program design and implementation
informed by education research, with ongoing evaluation and
data-driven improvement
• Design, implementation, and evaluation in
collaboration with school and community partners, building a
system of support from elementary through high school and
adult/family education
• Clear focus and goals driving structures and
actions
• Multiple, connected avenues for action –
direct service, research, policy, and advocacy; along with
engagement of multiple resources (students, faculty, other
programs)
• Structured opportunities for undergraduate
student learning and engagement – crossing multiple types of
action, providing a coherent and sustained framework while allowing
for student leadership and ownership, and building community
among students.
This position will play a lead role in developing, guiding, and
evaluating the Center’s education strategy in collaboration with the
Center’s other education program staff, while directly managing the
Center’s high school programs.
This full-time Program Director will have responsibility for a three
main sets of work:
· Education
equity strategy. Working with Swearer Center staff,
school and community partners, and Brown students and collaborators,
this position will have lead responsibility for developing, guiding,
and evaluating the Center’s education strategy.
· High school programs. This
position will directly manage, oversee, and evaluate the Center’s high
school programs. This portfolio currently includes the RI Urban
Debate League, College Advising Corps, Brown Science Prep,
Algebra-in-Motion, and the Outdoor Leadership and Environmental
Education Program, and may evolve in accordance with the larger
education strategy. The day-to-day management of these programs
is generally done by Brown undergraduate students; the Program Director
provides the overall framework and context, establishes and maintains
partner relationships, and provides ongoing supervision, support,
structured learning opportunities, and evaluation of both student
learning and community impact. The program director will also
manage grants related to any of these initiatives, in partnership with
the Swearer Center director.
· Supervision
and Swearer Center collaboration. The program director
will provide supervision, support, and evaluation of at least one
full-time staff member (and several student staff) in the education
programs area. Like all Swearer Center staff, this person will
collaborate with the overall staff on Center-wide strategy and
initiatives and work to integrate these activities with broader Swearer
Center goals and programs.
Qualifications
· Experience
in designing, executing, and evaluating strategies that have increased
educational success for under-represented individuals
· Knowledge of
research base and networks related to educational equity and education
reform; experience with education evaluation
· Track record
of collaboration with diverse communities, schools, youth and families
· Interest in
and ability to engage, collaborate with, support, and educate
undergraduate students
· Strong skills
in management, program structure and process, and documentation; strong
attention to detail and follow through; accountability
· Experience in
educational settings (community-based, formal, non-formal) strongly
preferred.
· Collaborative
workstyle, strong team player, inclusiveness and flexibility
· Excellent
written and oral communication skills
· Experience
with grant management preferred
· Bachelor’s
degree and several years relevant experience required
The Program Coordinator will report to the Director of the Swearer
Center but will work closely with all Swearer Center full-time
staff.
To Apply Application deadline: Thursday, June 21, 2007.
Applications accepted solely via the Brown University careers website, https://careers.brown.edu –
search for job no. C00301.
Applications must include:
• On-line Brown University position application
(via website above)
• Cover letter, resume, and names and contact
information for 3 references – all attached within online
system.
• Cover letter should include a brief overview
of how the candidate has previously developed and implemented a
research-based strategy to increase educational success for
under-represented individuals.
If you have any questions, contact the Swearer Center at via email at swearer_questions@brown.edu.
For more information on the Swearer Center, visit
http://swearercenter.brown.edu.
Employment
opportunity: English for Action seeks a passionate, energetic and
creative full-time executive director to provide leadership to the
organization as it seeks to increase sustainability and community
impact. Full description: http://www.idealist.org/en/job/211090-138
Substitute
teaching: The
Genesis Center is interested in adding to its substitute list. If you
are an ESOL instructor who is interested in occasional work as a
substitute, either day, evening or Saturday hours, please call Nancy
Fritz or Pat Clarkin at 781-6110.
Jobs in Literacy –
nation wide postings on the National Institute for
Literacy’s LINCS site: http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/lincs/jobs/jobs.cgi
Substitute list:
if
you would like your name added to the general
list,
please see contact LR/RI. The list needs to be updated so that it
can function more usefully for teachers and programs hoping to work
with
them. (http://www.brown.edu/lrri/sub.html)
Rhode Island Community Jobs (RICOMJOB) is a
public
e-mail announcement
list that seeks to raise the profile of meaningful work in Rhode Island
by helping non-profit and public interest employers publicize openings
effectively. Anyone seeking a job that makes a difference in Rhode
Island
can join the list. Any non-profit, government or private sector
employer
advertising a paid position related to the public interest or community
concerns can post a free job listing. Positions must be paid but
may be part-time, full-time or temporary.
To join the list as a job seeker or to post a job as an
employer go
to: http://www.ricommunityjobs.org
Rhode Island Community Jobs is supported by the Swearer
Center
for Public
Service at Brown University and the Rhode Island Campus Compact.
If you have questions about this service, please contact us at
ricomjob@brown.edu
online
/ resources available
google
literacy site: http://www.google.com/literacy/
outstanding resource: http://www.youthliteracy.ca/
- Youth Literacy work in Canada
Shannon Gavin, a senior graduating from Brown this year, has developed
a new website, as her capstone project in Middle East Studies,
called Arab Perceptions of the United
States: Video Interviews from Amman, Jordan and Damascus,
Syria.You can view them, and supporting text at http://arabperceptions.wordpress.com
The Verizon Literacy Program
Self-Assessment Tool (VLP-SAT) is based on the Life Span
Literacy Matrix, which outlines literacy outcomes, standardized
instruments for measuring the outcomes, and effective practices that
enable programs to increase literacy development across the life span.
The VLP-SAT provides research-based literacy standards that identify
program practices linked to desired learner outcomes. Within each
standard are a number of indicators and specific, observable examples
of the ways programs are working toward those standards. Programs rate
themselves on each indicator according to a 5-point scale in relation
to quality, intensity and scope of implementation. Ideally, program
staff will use the VLP-SAT as a benchmark – to evaluate current program
practices, seek out resources to improve key areas, and return to the
VLP-SAT for post-improvement evaluation.
This first component of the VLP-SAT addresses adult literacy. Future
components will address early literacy, elementary school literacy and
adolescent literacy.
Go to http://www.thinkfinity.org/
; Click on Verizon Literacy Network On the right-hand menu, click on
the Just Released Verizon Literacy Program Self-Assessment Tool
Also available - Click on Verizon Literacy Network; Click on Podcasts
on the right-side menu and listen to the broadcast about think-alouds.
There are two print documents – one that shows the part of a Challenger
story the speaker is discussing and one that describes the six steps he
uses in his think-aloud. There is also a podcast on guided repeated
oral reading.
The Council for
Advancement of Adult Literacy has released TORCHLIGHTS IN ESL: Five Community College
Profiles http://www.caalusa.org/torchlights.pdf.
The publication is a supplement to PASSING THE TORCH: Strategies for
Innovation in Community College ESL
http://www.caalusa.org/eslpassingtorch226.pdf -- the result of a CAAL
study by Forrest P. Chisman and JoAnn Crandall, published in March
2007. Both projects were made possible by support from the William and
Flora Hewlett Foundation, Harold W. McGraw, Jr., The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc., the Ford Foundation, and the Dollar General
Corporation.
DARE TO DREAM: A
Collection of Papers from a Resource Group of 102 Adult Education and
Literacy Professionals.
This document was one of several presentations prepared for the April
17, 2007 meeting of the Commission. The papers were developed in
response to questions posed in several thematic areas (indicated in the
publication) and reflect the ideas, insights, cautions, and
recommendations of education and literacy leaders whose participation
was facilitated by a team of 10 group leaders. The group was challenged
to "think outside the box," to imagine systemic changes that would be
required to expand adult education and literacy service beyond the 3
million or so presently served in publicly funded programs to many
times that number, and to do so to a high standard of
quality. http://www.caalusa.org/daretodream.pdf
TORCHLIGHTS gives detailed profiles of the ESL programs of each
of the five colleges at the heart of CAAL's study. It was
authored by Elizabeth Zachry & Emily Dibble (Bunker Hill
Community College, MA), Sharon Seymour (City College of San Francisco,
CA), Suzanne Leibman (College of Lake County, IL), Sandy Ares &
Beth Larson (Seminole Community College, FL), and Pamela Ferguson
(Yakima Community College, WA). The profiles, especially if read
in conjunction with CAAL's main research report, should be helpful to
those who design and operate community college ESL programs as well as
to policy makers and funding agencies. For example, they each contain a
discussion of the financing and levels of funding needed to provide
high quality adult ESL services.
The main research report focuses on noncredit ESL services. It
concentrates on generating learning gains, retaining students, and
bringing about transitions to future education. Among the effective
strategies examined are high intensity instruction, learning outside
the classroom, and the use of learner-centered curricula. Special
attention is given to curricular integration, coenrollment, vocational
ESL (VESL), and the Spanish GED. Issues of faculty training,
development, and quality are examined, and recommendations are given
for "engineering innovation" in ESL colleges and programs. Funding and
assessment issues are also treated.
To access the PDF version of the report, click on the link provided
above. Bound copies may be purchased directly from CAAL ($25 plus
postage and delivery, contact bheitner@caalusa.org for ordering
instructions). Many other publications from CAAL, and from the National
Commission on Adult Literacy, are available in PDF form at the CAAL web
site http://www.caalusa.org. All
may be used freely with attribution.
FORCES CHANGING OUR
NATION'S FUTURE, another of the presentations given at its
second meeting on April 17, 2007. This document was prepared by labor
economist Andrew Sum of Northeastern University, a member of the
National Commission. Dr. Sum is Professor and Director, Center for
Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. The resource is based
on research findings from THE PERFECT STORM (Educational Testing
Service, March 2007) which Dr. Sum co-authored along with Irwin Kirsch
and other ETS researchers. It also draws on a number of other studies.
The publication includes an Author's Introduction and Executive Summary
and 30 graphs and tables. It examines the comparative performance of
U.S. adults and youth on international literacy assessments, the
importance of literacy/numeracy proficiencies for labor market success,
and the projected outlook for literacy proficiencies of US. adults. The
document is available in PDF form from the website of the Council for
Advancement of Adult Literacy. It may also be purchased directly from
CAAL in bound form ($25 plus postage, contact bheitner@caalusa.org for
ordering instructions).
- Gail Spangenberg, President, Council for Advancement of Adult
Literacy 1221 Avenue of the Americas - 46th Fl New York, NY
10020
212-512-2362, F: 212-512-2610
The National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) has just released Literacy Behind Bars: Results From the 2003
National Assessment of Adult Literacy Prison Survey. This report
presents findings on the literacy skills of incarcerated adults and
analyzes the changes in these skills since the 1992 National Adult
Literacy Survey (NALS). Major findings include the
following: The average Prose, Document, and Quantitative literacy
scores of the prison population were higher in 2003 than in 1992.
Prison inmates had lower average prose, document, and quantitative
literacy than adults living in households. On average, inmates also had
lower levels of educational attainment than adults living in
households.
In general, either prison inmates had lower average Prose, Document,
and Quantitative literacy than adults living in households with the
same level of educational attainment or there was no statistically
significant difference between the two groups. The exception was that
among adults without any high school education, prison inmates had
higher average literacy on all three scales than adults living in
households.
In 2003, 37% of the prison population did not have a high school
diploma or a GED, compared with 49 percent in 1992.
Incarcerated White adults had lower average prose literacy than White
adults living in households. Incarcerated Black and Hispanic adults had
higher average prose literacy than Black and Hispanic adults living in
households. Between 1992 and 2003, average prose and quantitative
literacy levels increased for prison inmates who were Black, male, or
in the 25- to 39-year-old age group. For more information, please
check NAAL web site at: nces.ed.gov/NAAL. - Jaleh Behroozi
Soroui, Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI), American
Institutes for Research 1990 K St, NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20006,
202/403-6958 email: jsoroui@air.org
Journal of Online Mathematics and its
Applications offers
articles, learning modules, "mathlets" (single-purpose learning tools),
reviews of online resources, and a developers' area. Search
contents of the journal by type of
resource (e.g., article), by subject (e.g., number concepts, data
presentation, plane geometry), or both. The journal makes
extensive use of graphics, animations, video clips, and other
media. Articles and other materials are peer reviewed.
(Mathematical Association of America, National ScienceFoundation)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1875
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announces that
the The U.S. Civics and Citizenship Online: Resource Center for
Instructors is available online at: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=b36e663784bcd010VgnVCM100000d1f1d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=b36e663784bcd010VgnVCM100000d1f1d6a1RCRD
The Verizon Foundation recently announced a $31 million
investment to provide free online educational resources to teachers,
students and community organizations through Thinkfinity.org
<http://thinkfinity.org/> , Verizon's comprehensive online portal
to 50,000 standards- based, K-12 lesson plans, resources for adult and
family literacy providers, and other educational resources. Read more
at http://www.pr-inside.com/verizon-foundation-announces-31-million-r77817.htm
This resource, provided at not cost to the public, is written and
produce by some of the nation's leading educational organizations, such
as the National Center for Family Literacy, ProLiteracy Worldwide,
National Geographic Xpeditions, ArtsEdge, EconEdLink, EdSitement,
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Read-Write-Think, Science
NetLinks, and more. The $31 million commitment, which will be
distributed over three years, will allow leading educational
organizations to continue to produce and expand the number of
interactives and other educational resources available at http://www.thinkfinity.org/.
Resources from EdChange family of Web
sites:
A new Classism and Poverty Awareness Quiz http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/quizzes.html
;
Newly designed
Social Justice News Service site http://mail.socialjusticenews.net/mailman/listinfo/news_socialjusticenews.net-
email-based news service, periodic email digests of links to articles
related to equity, social justice, and multiculturalism from sources
all over the world.
New essays and links to essays http://www.edchange.org/publications.html
New essays in the Multicultural Education Research Room http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers.html
CAELA's newest online
resource collection,Working with
Literacy-Level Adult English
Language Learners. is now available at http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/collections/literacy.html
The collection includes links and annotations to many resources related
to working with adult English language learners, who have had limited
access to formal education. - Lynda Terrill, Center for Adult English
Language Acquisition, Center for Applied Linguistics, 4646 40th St, NW,
Washington, DC 20016 lterrill@cal.org
from Daphne
Greenberg: The UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities on December 13, 2006. This was a tremendous
achievement for all who had worked over the past 5 years and even
before that, to put disability on the human rights agenda.
It is expected that the U.S. disability movement will campaign for the
United States to sign and ratify the Convention. While the U.S.
had announced at the beginning of the process that they would never
sign, this appears to have changed and they are considering a
signature. See the Convention in its final form at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/convtexte.htm
Reflect 6, the magazine of the UK’s
National Research and Development Centre is now on-line.
http://www.nrdc.org.uk/publications_details.asp?ID=71
Articles of interest address numeracy, ESOL, work force learning and
practitioner-research.
from Thursday Notes, June 14, 2007:
More Legal Immigrants Choose Citizenship More
than one in two legal foreign-born residents of the US chose to become
citizens in 2005—the highest rate in 25 years, according to a March
analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center. The proportion of legal
foreign-born residents who became naturalized citizens hit 52 percent
in 2005, a 14 percentage point increase since 1990. At the
same time, the number of naturalized citizens reached a historic
high. Immigrants eligible for naturalization numbered nearly 9
million in 2005, including more than three million legal residents from
Mexico. The number of naturalized citizens of Mexican origin rose
144 percent from 1995 to 2005. http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=74
English Language Learner
Data Sources for State Plans Working on needs assessments for
your state plan? You can use the Migration Policy Institute’s
data tool to generate Census-based fact sheets on your state’s
foreign-born population with one click. The institute’s language
and education fact sheet includes each state’s rate of limited English
proficiency and levels of educational attainment in 1990, 2000 and
2005. The workforce fact sheet prepared by the institute provides
information on top jobs and industries employing the foreign-born
individuals in your state. http://www.migrationinformation.org/datahub/acscensus.cfm
Radical Math is a resource for
educators interested in integrating issues of social, political, and
economic justice into math curriculum and classes… RadicalMath.org has
the goals of raising mathematic literacy and simultaneously developing
ways to address a range of community issues. The website supports
educators to teach many different types of math within the context of
studying social, political, and economic justice issues.
RadicalMath.org also contains teaching materials on important financial
topics for youth such as owning a credit card, paying for college, and
avoiding subprime lenders, as well as materials on Ethnomathematics.
Visit http://www.radicalmath.org/
for more or email info@radicalmath.org
Google
Scholar enables searches for
scholarly
literature, including
peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical
reports from broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find
articles
from a variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint
repositories and universities, as well as articles available across the
web. Google Scholar orders search results by how relevant they
are
to your query, so the most useful references should appear at the top
of
the page. This relevance ranking takes into account the full text of
each
article as well as the article's author, the publication in which the
article
appeared and how often it has
been cited in scholarly literature. Google Scholar automatically
analyzes
and extracts citations and presents them as separate results, even if
the
documents they refer to are not online. This means your search results
may include citations of older works and seminal articles that
appear only in books or other offline publications. http://scholar.google.com/
Living in Poverty slideshow does
the
math: what
does it take to live at the poverty level.
http://www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/povertyusa/tour2.htm
RI Foundation online scholarship
directory - searchable by city/town,
intended field of study, current high school, and more. http://scholarship.rifoundation.org/
YouthBuild USA Learning Network has
links to Web sites and
full-text
documents, and includes a section on "Authentic Materials/Engaged
Learning/Constructivism/Contextual Learning/Project-based Learning." http://www.youthbuild.org/learningnetwork/professionaldev.html
Providence Community Resource Network
(PCRN) http://www.provplan.org/pcrn
Spanish language version of PCRN is up and running.
You
can access the site from the PCRN home page, http://www.provplan.org/pcrn,
or go to http://www.provplan.org/pcrnespa.
The Web pages, online instructions, and the content of the database
have
all been translated.
conferences
and workshops - conferences and workshops
are
listed chronologically and are updated with each bulletin
Rhode Island - Training/events around
employment issues
for people with disabilities http://www.ric.edu/uap/training.html
TESOL Academy at Boston
University – June 22-23 provides intensive, hands-on workshops
for a wide variety of TESOL practitioners. The academy features six
10-hour workshops focused on key issues and areas of practice in the
profession, from lesson planning for a multilevel class and helping
ELLs succeed in the mainstream classroom to vocabulary in language
learning. Offerings include:
Using Standards to Guide
Content-Based Curriculum Development for English Language Learners (B-1)
Judith B. O'Loughlin and Betty Ansin Smallwood, Workshop Leaders
(Target Audience: Grades 6-12 ESL teachers, sheltered content teachers,
mainstream content teachers, ESL specialists, and program
coordinators.)
· Assessment and Learning:
Balancing Program Performance and Instruction (B-3) Toni Borge,
Workshop Leader (Target Audience: Adult education administrators and
teachers)
· Helping ELLs Succeed in
the Mainstream Classroom: Integrating Sheltered Instruction
Observation Protocol (SIOP) and Differentiated Techniques Into
Content-Area Instruction (B-4) Jory Samkoff-Oulhiad, Workshop Leader
(Target Audience: Elementary and middle school content-area, bilingual,
and ESL teachers)
· Vocabulary in Language
Learning: Background and Methods of Instruction (B-5)
David L. Red, Workshop Leader (Target Audience: Practitioners of adult
ESOL instruction and staff development personnel for these
practitioners)
· Sound Concepts for
Teaching the Sound System (B-6) Marnie Reed, Workshop Leader (Target
Audience: Middle school, high school, and adult-level ESL teachers or
teacher trainers with little or no prior training or experience
teaching pronunciation)
For more information, including registration and workshop details,
visit TESOL Academy's Web site at http://www.tesol.org/academies
or contact TESOL's Education Programs at edprograms@tesol.org.
5th biennial National
Adult Learner
Leadership Institute, July 5-7, Hartford, CT.
Come meet and network with adult learner leaders and supporters from
around the country; take part in leadership training workshops; and
discuss what is going on in adult literacy nationally.
Come early and spend Independence Day in Hartford!
Register online or send in the form by regular mail.
http://www.valueusa.org/2007LeadershipInstitute.htm
REGISTER FOR SCALE'S 2007 READ.WRITE.ACT.
CONFERENCE! OCTOBER 26 - 27.
SCALE seeks proposals for workshop sessions at the 2007 Conference.
Conference attendees are college students, faculty, adult learners,
administrators, and community partners; please think about this diverse
audience as you plan your workshop. Proposals due by 5pm on June 29. http://readwriteact.org/rwa/rwaconference.html
Join us for two days
of workshops on Effective Transitions
in Adult Education, November 8-9, 2007 in Providence, RI.
Our keynote speaker, Dr. JoAnn Crandall, will kick off the event with a
discussion of transition for English language learners. For more
details, http://www.collegetransition.org/novconference.html
Cynthia Zafft, Director, National College Transition Network at World
Education nctn@worlded.org
other events and
conferences http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/Calendar/calendar_world.cgi
TESOL worldwide calendar of events http://www.tesol.org/isaffil/calendar/index.html
from previous bulletins: REMINDERS,
RESOURCES:
SABES Resource Lists Available.
From Carey
Reid [full message here]:
As you might know, Massachusetts now has a rigorous, stand-alone ABE
teacher's license. SABES, the System for Adult Basic Education
Support,
is a state-wide staff development system funded by MassDOE.
Ö[S]months ago I asked if NLA subscribers were interested in
helping
SABES build resource lists, by standard, in support of teachers seeking
the new license here in Massachusetts. Many of you helped out,
thank
you, and we've also worked with small groups of people locally to build
these 29 lists, now with over 150 resources--books, articles, websites,
and videos. The lists are now available on SABES's license
support website at http://www.sabes.org/license.
You can get quickly to the lists by clicking on the "new resources
added"
link under What's New, or at any time by using the resources link on
the
bottom of every webpage. When you arrive at the chart listing the
29 standards, click on any standard to go to the resource list we've
compiled
for it. The lists are annotated; with the annotations,
teachers
who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in respect to a
particular
standard can be more assured they're getting the resource they want or
need. If the resource can be viewed or downloaded on the Net,
we've
provided a link.
Additionally, we want to improve these lists, so please
email me
if you'd like to suggest additions or changes. BTW, the full list
of resources is also collected in a ProCite bibliography file, so if
you
use that software and would like to have your own "instant" database,
let
me know and I'll email you the file. As stated earlier, SABES is funded
by the Massachusetts Department of Education. To avoid confusion,
the website is not an official DOE site but rather one of SABES's means
of supporting license-seeking teachers in our state. Links to
Massachusetts
DOE webpages, however, are provided on the site.
breathe - everyday yoga at your desk. http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/everyday_yoga.html
what do you think? LR/RI has had an online survey
on its
site
forever. Previously, those who may have come across the survey
were
asked to copy and paste it into an email message, or to print it and
complete
it. Thanks to the brilliant technical support and inservice
learning
provided by Brown University, the survey can now be completed on
line.
I'd be grateful if you could please take the time to complete it.
While occasional word comes back about the work LR/RI has done, this
survey
attempts to be somewhat more systematic in considering the work that's
done and the work that needs to be accomplished. Please complete
the survey at http://www.brown.edu/lrri
- scroll
down and click on the link to the survey. If you lack web access
and wish to complete the survey, please contact LR/RI to receive one
via
snail mail or fax.
please
submit
Please contact LR/RI if you have information, questions or
announcements
to share with adult educators in Rhode Island. Bulletins go out at
least
twice a month; more frequently when there's more to share. To
submit
information for the next bulletin, please contact LR/RI by phone
(401-863-2839),
mail (PO Box 1974, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912) or email.
back to LR/RI
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